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| | | Hawknest Latigo Loop - MSPN, AZ | | | |
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Hawknest Latigo Loop - MSPN, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.96 Miles |
418 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.96 Miles | 3 Hrs | | 3.02 mph |
| 418 ft AEG | 2 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Lately I'm inclined toward hiking in the Scottsdale area on Fridays to try and avoid the weekend crowds. I've not seen nor hiked near this trailhead. So after my hair appt in N Scottsdale, picking up a Subway sandwich that I ate at the TH, it was time to start hiking.
I had drawn out this loop of around 8 1/2 miles; pretty flat, I couldn't seem to fit in a hill  . I had to limit my time out here as I had an evening event to attend to see my niece cheerleading at her high school's quarter final basketball game at Veteran's Coliseum. I knew this was a likely biking area so suspected the trails would be smooth as glass and they were. It really does let you enjoy your surroundings so much more when you can walk and gawk.
I started with the Hawknest Trail on the west side of this area and headed north. I immediately noticed it was a fabulous desert area and would be for the whole hike. Throughout this hike, there are also smatterings of boulder sections so that's always fun. The flora was changing throughout and there were saguaros dispersed as well. The only distraction were those darn power poles but I did get somewhat used to them.
There are many trails that intersect and while there are signs, sometimes they are just a little confusing. I pretty much knew my route and how far I needed to hike so I didn't have a problem. I finally got far enough and high enough that I could now see the snow on the mountains so I zoomed in for a closer look. After passing by several other trail junctions, I finally got to the Cloudburst Trail which would start my route mostly to the east, altho it squiggles north from time to time. You have nice views of both Cone and Brown Mountains.
Next was the very scenic Cone Mountain Trail that I had lost been on with Linda a few years back. It was near this section where I would see the only Teddy chollas. You start heading slightly south while continuing east. There's lots of boulders and great flora as you hike below the south flank of Cone Mountain. I hiked by a nice section of lavender plants. I now hooked up with part of the Hackamore Trail that took me east. You can take it to the southside of Brown's Ranch TH; for me it was just a 1/2 mile connector to the three miles of the Latigo Trail southward toward the Pima/Dynamite Trailhead. I now realized I would get done sooner than I thot and wish I had brot an after-hike beer.
Hiking into the sun limited my photo taking for the most part. There are views to the Tom's Thumb area and McDowell Mountains as well as a lot of green grass of Troon. And even though you start seeing houses too, you still feel very much in the middle of the desert. Oh, before I forget, occasionally I would have to get off the trail as bikers would pass by and the ground was so cushy  ; I really liked that. There were several intersecting trails so once again, I felt the need to consult the signs to make sure I stayed the course.
There were interesting changes of flora as I continued south and now started to encounter more hikers and bikers. I would probably see about a dozen hikers and two dozen bike riders on this hike so not bad. I'm still having problems with my once seemingly flawless phone camera. I'm going to change the lens protector as maybe it's scratched and see if that helps. The trail makes a wide swath as it takes you to the TH.
These TH digs are really quite beautiful. The bathroom was very nice and very modern as was the water station. These trails are a little flat for me as I like to throw in some sort of climb but really nothing much around here except maybe Rock Tank Trail.
WATCH: 8.69 miles (2,760 high point/2,365 low) Avg 133 bpm/151 max with 57% in Zone 3 aerobic, 42% Zone 2 Weight Control burning 1,230 calories. Starting temp 59, sunny and 27% humidity finishing at 12:54PM. Believe it or not, I kept my vest on the whole time. It was mostly the breeze that kept it just a tad nippy for me. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Chuparosa were in all sorts of conditions and some were superb! Wiry Lotus was mostly that. It's just not the most beautiful plant to photograph. A few of the Mormon Tea were also blooming as was the Bursage... once again, not the most beautiful of blooms. There were a few blooming Wolfberries too. |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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